Northwell Health has opened a $1.4 million renovated lobby and front entrance at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.

The New Hyde Park-based health system said the lobby has been expanded to 5,140 square feet, which is 25 percent larger than the original.

The lobby includes a cafe and coffee bar, as well as a Vivo Health Pharmacy. Vivo is a Northwell-operated pharmacy that has locations at various hospitals run by the health system.

Northwell said the renovations were paid for, in part, by a donation from the Bohlsen family. The Bohlsens have a history of donating to Southside Hospital. Photo Credit: Northwell Health

"We've knocked down walls and are using what used to be isolated areas to make it a far more welcoming, open space," said Donna Moravick, Southside's executive director.

As part of the renovation, the hospital's chapel has been relocated to the hallway near the cafeteria.

Northwell said the renovations were paid for, in part, by a donation from the Bohlsen family. The Bohlsens have a history of donating to Southside; the hospital's Bohlsen Family Emergency Department is named for the family.

The lobby is one step in an overhaul of the facility and its grounds. Southside said earlier this year it plans to build a five-story employee parking garage and a new pavilion for private patient rooms.

The pavilion would include 90 private rooms, four operating rooms and 48 pre- and postoperative holding rooms. The garage would add 1,040 employee parking spaces, leaving the hospital's existing 940 spaces open for patients and visitors.

The hospital plans to tear down a building it owns on the northeast side of the campus to build the multistory garage.

Northwell Health is the largest private employer in New York, with about 66,000 employees.

Northwell Health has opened a $1.4M renovated lobby for Southside Hospital; the lobby is one step in an overhaul of the facility and its grounds.

David Reich-Hale reports on banking, the business of health care and other topics. He joined Newsday in 2014. He has also worked at American Banker and the New Haven Register. He is from Trumbull, Connecticut.